TouchVision
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This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
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| Type | Digital broadcast television network Online Video on Demand (news) |
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| Country | United States |
| Availability | Nationwide (available on OTA digital television in select markets) and online |
| Slogan | "A New Kind of News Experience" |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
| Owner | Think Televisual |
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Key people
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Lee Abrams (co-founder/chief content officer) Brandon Davis (co-founder/chief executive officer)[1] |
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Launch date
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September 16, 2013 |
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Picture format
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Televsion: 480i (SDTV; widescreen) Online: 1080p HD (depends on connection) |
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Official website
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touchvision |
| TouchVision | |
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| Streaming media | |
| YouTube | TouchVison channel |
| TouchVision Mobile App | Android and iOS |
TouchVision is an American digital broadcast and internet Video on demand television network that is owned by Think Televisual. The service provides rolling news coverage that is distributed to television, mobile and tablet platforms. TouchVision's operations are based out of the headquarters of Weigel Broadcasting on North Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois.
Contents
History[edit]
TouchVision was co-founded by former radio consultant and XM Satellite Radio executive Lee Abrams (who serves as its chief content officer) and Brandon Davis (who serves as its chief executive officer).[1]
The service launched in beta form on July 1, 2013 on CBS affiliate WDJT-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (owned by Weigel Broadcasting) over its fourth digital subchannel,[2] replacing a time-purchased real estate listings service that was programmed by local realtor Shorewest Realtors.[3] The service officially launched on September 16, 2013.[4] In early November of that year, WDJT sister station WMEU-CD in Chicago began carrying TouchVision on its second digital subchannel.
TouchVision gained its first syndicated client outside of the Weigel properties on December 19, 2014, when WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana announced that it would begin carrying a half-hour broadcast of the service on weekday mornings (serving as both a lead-in for WISH's local morning newscast and, as a result of the then-pending loss of its CBS affiliation to WTTV, a replacement for the CBS Morning News); the TouchVision simulcast began airing on WISH when it became a CW affiliate on January 1, 2015.[5]
WDJT dropped TouchVision from its 58.4 subchannel on January 12, 2015, in advance of the soft launch of the classic television network Decades (a joint venture between Weigel and CBS Television Stations) that occurred three days later; however, it remains available in the Milwaukee market via sister independent station WMLW-TV, which carries an hour-long simulcast of the service on weekday mornings.[6]
Format and distribution[edit]
TouchVision is aimed at a demographic of young adults dubbed by the service as the "Millennials Plus" generation (those between the ages of 18 and 35), who grew up using digital technology and have long adapted to social media.[7] TouchVision currently claims a collective audience approaching about 1 million viewers each month.[7]
Over the Air[edit]
Broadcasting 24 hours a day in a widescreen format, TouchVision presents national and international news in a format similar to a newsreel, using pictures and video footage – mainly adapted from wire services – presented without any on-air anchors;[8] it also provides other news content such as local weather and sports score cut-ins and original feature segments. A window is provided for a few minutes before the top of the hour, allowing the local station to insert a locally produced news capsule or weather update. The network also airs a half-hour "week in review" program intended to summarize the network's best segments of the week and introduce the network on the affiliate's main station. TouchVision's programming began to televised on a semi-national basis on September 29, 2014, when Weigel's newly launched network Heroes & Icons began carrying an hour-long daily morning simulcast of the service.
Online and Mobile[edit]
The service is available as a linear television channel, on its apps for smartphones and tablet computers, and a dedicated website (touchvision.com). Through a location setting based on zip code or browser location sharing, the network's feed is also available real-time and with limited DVR-style controls through the network's website and apps for the iOS App Store and Google Play depending upon proximity to an affiliate. All of the networks segment videos can also be viewed on its website, apps, YouTube channel, Facebook page as well as on Yahoo Screen.
See also[edit]
- Independent Network News – a syndicated national news program for independent stations, which ran from 1982 to 1991.
- Independent News Network – a production company (not to be confused with Independent Network News) specializing in producing newscasts for television stations without an in-house news department.
- AJ+ - A digital, online news content provider
References[edit]
- ^ a b Theilman, Sam (July 8, 2013). "Lee Abrams' Next Project: A News Network on All Platforms". AdWeek. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ^ Theilman, Sam (July 8, 2013). "Abrams, Saslow Prepare to Launch News Network This Month". AdWeek. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ^ Hagey, Paul (June 4, 2013). "Shorewest launches Internet TV channel". Inman News. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
- ^ Kabelowsky, Steve (September 16, 2013). "TouchVision, WDJT-TV CBS 58, take aim at young audience". OnMilwaukee.com. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ^ David Lindquist (December 19, 2014). "WISH-8 lining up celebrity talk, syndicated sitcoms". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- ^ Foran "TV flashback: Weigel to add new nostalgia channel in Milwaukee" Check
|url=scheme (help). Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. January 13, 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015. - ^ a b Merli, John (January 24, 2014). "News and Information For Millenials Plus". TVTechnology. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ "Newscast has no anchors, but plenty of jobs". Chicago Sun-Times.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Corporate website
- News And Information For Millenials
- Radio Innovator Sees Desire For 'Mass Appeal Intelligent, Cinematic' TV News
- Wall Street Journal: TouchVision Network Set To Debut
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- 24-hour television news channels in the United States
- English-language television stations
- English-language television stations in the United States
- Internet properties established in 2013
- Television channels and stations established in 2013
- Weigel Broadcasting
- Video on demand services
- Internet television channels
- Android (operating system) software
- IOS software
- Digital media
- New media
- Alternative media
